*Soon to overtake Italy as country with highest number of deaths
…plus situation reports from other countries
Publicly-funded US broadcaster Voice of America has pushed back on criticism from the White House that it is promoting Chinese “foreign propaganda” on the coronavirus pandemic. In a statement on Friday, President Donald Trump’s administration claimed VOA pushed Beijing’s message by tweeting a video of celebrations at the end of Wuhan’s quarantine measures, and noting the US had surpassed China’s death toll.
The United States of America (USA) has reported 2,108 coronavirus deaths in on Friday alone, the highest daily increase in the country since the outbreak began, pushing the total US deaths toll to 18,777 on the one-month anniversary of the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic.
Meanwhile, the number of confirmed cases in the US topped 501,000 on Saturday, as the worldwide death toll surpassed 102,000.
The US is soon expected to overtake Italy in the grim position as the country with the highest number of fatalities. To date, Italy has registered at least 18,800 deaths.
With the number of infections worldwide now close to 1.7 million, including more than 376,000 recovered patients, the WHO has urged caution to countries considering easing restrictions put in place to stem the outbreak.
“The way down could be as dangerous as the way up if not managed properly,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
Publicly-funded US broadcaster Voice of America has pushed back on criticism from the White House that it is promoting Chinese “foreign propaganda” on the coronavirus pandemic.
In a statement on Friday, President Donald Trump’s administration claimed VOA pushed Beijing’s message by tweeting a video of celebrations at the end of Wuhan’s quarantine measures, and noting the US had surpassed China’s death toll.
VOA director Amanda Bennet pushed back at the criticism – while not mentioning the Trump administration – noting that the broadcaster had reported on China’s efforts to initially hide the coronavirus outbreak.
“VOA has thoroughly debunked much of the information coming from the Chinese government and government-controlled media,” she said in a statement.
Iran
Also, as at 08:45 GMT Saturday April 11, 2020, President Hassan Rouhani urged Iranians to respect health protocols as “low-risk” economic activities resumed in most of the country on Saturday, state news agency IRNA reported.
So-called low-risk businesses will resume across the country from Saturday with the exception of the capital Tehran, where they will restart from April 18. Iran is the Middle Eastern country worst-affected by the new coronavirus.
“Easing restrictions does not mean ignoring health protocols … social distancing and other health protocols should be respected seriously by people,” Rouhani was quoted as saying.
Russia
Russia has reported 1,667 new coronavirus cases , bringing the national tally of confirmed cases to 13,584.
The number of coronavirus-related deaths in the country rose by 12 to 106, the Russian coronavirus crisis response centre said.
Japan
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has called for citizens across Japan to avoid evening spots like bars and restaurants, national broadcaster NHK reported, in a ratcheting of social distancing guidance to fight the spread of the coronavirus.
The nationwide call for citizens to stay home in the evenings follows the declaration of a state of emergency in Tokyo and six other prefectures last week.
Abe has been gradually tightening guidance, seeking to lessen the impact on the economy as it is hammered by the pandemic, leading to criticism that he has been too slow to act and risks having the virus spread out of control. Tokyo, the current centre of Japan’s coronavirus outbreak, identified more than 190 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, topping Friday’s record high of 189 cases, NHK said.
Bangladesh extends lockdown
In South Asia’s latest moves to curb the coronavirus pandemic, Bangladesh has extended its nationwide lockdown by 11 days while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold talks on Saturday with states to decide whether to extend its own stringent restrictions beyond next week.
In Bangladesh the army has been deployed across the country to enforce social distancing measures. The government late on Friday extended the nationwide lockdown to April 25 as the number of confirmed cases rose to 424, with 27 deaths.
India began a national lockdown on March 25.
Brazil death toll passes 1,o00
Brazil, the hardest-hit Latin American country in the coronavirus pandemic, has passed the mark of 1,000 deaths, the health ministry said.
The ministry’s latest figures gave a toll of 19,638 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 1,056 deaths – one fewer than it had indicated in an initial tally earlier in the day on Friday.
Health officials are bracing for things to get worse. Experts predict the outbreak will only start to peak in Brazil toward late April.
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has once again caused a stir by disregarding his government’s own recommendations on social distancing during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Bolsonaro’s son Eduardo tweeted a video showing his father visiting a bakery in the capital Brasilia on Thursday evening.
In the video, the right-wing president can be seen eating, drinking and being photographed with several people standing right next to him. While some of those in the film are wearing face masks, Bolsonaro is not.
Under local restrictions to stem the pandemic, bakeries in the capital are currently only allowed to sell their products for take-out, the news portal G1 said.
Pakistan toll rises to 71
Pakistan’s death toll from the new coronavirus has risen to 71 after five more patients lost their lives in the last 24 hours, health authorities have said.
The total number of confirmed cases surged to 4,788 with 190 new cases reported, according to the Health Ministry. The ministry said 50 of patients are in critical condition, while 762 people recovered across the country. The northeastern Punjab province, which accounts for more than half of the country’s population, is the worst-hit area in Pakistan with 2,336 cases.
